The Mad Demon—such was the name they had given him—watched the chaos unfolding before him. Yan Sheng and his gang were putting on quite the show, but he wasn't the type to stand idly by like some cliché villain, waiting to be overpowered. No, there was far too much on his plate.
Outwardly, he seemed calm, composed, even amused. But inwardly? He was exhausted.
On one side, he had to fend off Yan Sheng and his gang, who had gone to ridiculous lengths to stir this blood river. On the other, he was constantly battling the will of the heavens—a relentless force bent on stopping him to protect the fragile balance of the world. Even the heavens, in their desperation, seemed pitiful.
I swear, when I succeed, I'll destroy the heavens, the Mad Demon vowed silently, his inner roar echoing through his thoughts.
His gaze shifted back to Yan Sheng, who was mid-ritual. The sight made his eyes widen slightly—not in fear, but mild surprise.
He used that move? Predictable, I suppose. Especially after all the effort he put into gathering those women for his so-called "harem."
"Extraction of the Five Supreme Elements," the Mad Demon murmured to himself, his tone neutral, almost bored.
Across the field, Yan Sheng felt the surge of power as he extracted the elemental origins of the women he had so meticulously collected. For the briefest moment, a flicker of pity flashed through his eyes—but only for a moment. He quickly buried it beneath a cold, calculated thought:
This is why I kept them around in the first place.
With a laugh that echoed with cruel triumph, Yan Sheng addressed both his adversary and the heavens above.
"Whether I break free from this cursed cage or not depends entirely on this moment, Mad Demon."
The Mad Demon's gaze sharpened, his tone dripping with disdain.
"So, you've finally abandoned those women you fought so hard to keep by your side?"
Yan Sheng smirked, his voice laced with mockery.
"Don't act so naïve, Mad Demon. You knew my plan all along. Isn't this exactly what you expected from me?"
Meanwhile, the women—drained, broken, and betrayed—could do nothing but weep. Their elemental origins had been ripped away, leaving them powerless. They lacked even the strength to curse Yan Sheng, though their tear-filled eyes spoke volumes of their anguish and hatred.
The Mad Demon nodded slowly, a mixture of admiration and scorn playing on his lips.
"Indeed, Yan Sheng. I saw through you long ago. I even warned them, but it doesn't matter anymore. You've begun the Ascension. The heavens won't let this chance slip away—they'll use this moment to force me into it as well."
Yan Sheng's crooked smile widened further, the madness in his eyes glinting like shards of glass.
"You're absolutely right. The heavens are desperate, hoping to bind us together in this trial. But that's their headache, not mine. With this move, I can extract the elemental origins of any five extreme physiques and use that power to break through any cultivation realm—effortlessly."
Done with words, Yan Sheng activated the elemental origins, channeling their energy directly into his breakthrough. The heavens responded immediately, roaring their fury as bolts of divine thunder rained down.
Unbothered, Yan Sheng rose into the air, his body radiating power. Lightning struck him, but he didn't falter. Instead, he ascended further, his aura swelling with unchecked might.
Mad Demon followed suit. His cultivation aura surged as he defied both the heavens and Yan Sheng's growing strength. The storm intensified, each bolt of heavenly thunder more ferocious than the last.
Hovering in mid-air, the two figures glared at each other, separated by mere feet but worlds apart in ambition. As the heavens' fury reached its peak, both saw an opening. Neither hesitated.
"Obsidian Slash," Yan Sheng snarled.
A beam of black energy tore through the air, a force so dark and consuming it seemed to devour the very fabric of existence.
"Strings of Light," Li Huo countered, summoning radiant threads that converged into a blinding, concentrated strike.
The two forces collided with a deafening roar. Dark and light clashed violently, each vying for dominance. The explosion that followed rippled across the battlefield, splitting the earth and shaking the heavens themselves.
---
Darkness.
Blueish-purple energy writhed like serpents in the chaotic void. A man drifted aimlessly, his withered body resembling an ancient, dying tree. He clung to life by the thinnest of threads, his vitality drained to the brink.
His eyes opened slowly, surveying the emptiness around him. A faint sigh escaped his lips.
"How long has it been since I ascended?" he muttered to himself. "I can't even remember anymore."
Closing his eyes, he reached into his mind palace, where two orbs rested—one black, one white. He tried to move them, as he always did, but they remained unyielding.
"What are these things?" he whispered bitterly. "Why have they been with me all this time if they're completely useless?"
The orbs had been with him since the beginning of his cultivation journey, yet they refused to reveal their purpose. He knew, deep down, that they held the key to his advancement. But how could he unlock something so stubbornly unresponsive?
"What's the point of all this?" he murmured, his voice heavy with despair.
He thought of the home he had once dreamed of reaching after his ascension. All his suffering, all his sacrifices—what had they amounted to?
Two silent tears slid down his cheeks. He stared at them in disbelief.
"Am I… crying?" He chuckled bitterly, his voice tinged with madness. "How long has it been since I shed tears? I guess my impending death has made me vulnerable.
In the quiet of his thoughts, an image surfaced—a vague, gentle figure. The memory brought him a flicker of peace, though he couldn't recall the face clearly.
"Would I meet you if I died?" he whispered. "I hope not. If heaven and hell exist, I'm definitely going to hell."
With that, he took his final breath.
---
Li Huo, the Mad Demon, opened his eyes to pitch-black surroundings. For a moment, he simply stared at the silence, then muttered to himself,
"Does hell look this peaceful? Did they remodel it or something?"
He scanned the void, half-expecting to find pits of boiling oil or something equally torturous. But there was nothing—just endless darkness.
Frowning, he muttered,
"This place… looks familiar. Where have I seen it before?"
Before he could piece it together, a screen materialized in front of him with an obnoxious Boo!
"Whoa!" he yelped, recoiling. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the screen. "It's you. What the hell are you doing here? Did you follow me to hell?"
[Nope. We're back.]
"Back?" he echoed. "Back where?"
[To where your journey began.]